A group of slimmers from Waveney are bidding to raise thousands of pounds, as well as shedding one or two, in a gruelling coast-to-coast charity cycle ride.

A group of slimmers from Waveney are bidding to raise thousands of pounds, as well as shedding one or two, in a gruelling coast-to-coast charity cycle ride.

Eleven keen members of Waveney Wobbly Wheelers will dip their back wheels into the Irish Sea on June 1 at the start of their quest. They will pedal the width of the country before dipping their front wheels in the North Sea to mark the end of their four-day challenge.

Ina Coubrough who runs Slimming World groups in Lowestoft and Beccles, said the last three months of training had been worthwhile.

'We are having a lot of fun, people are losing weight and getting fit and we are raising money for charity,' she said. 'It combines the three things perfectly.

'All of us have lost some weight. We're going to weigh ourselves the day we start and on the night we finish, and members are going to do a sweepstake on how much everyone will lose.'

One of the cyclists, George Rhodes came up with the idea of the charity ride after completing a fund-raising mountain climb in memory of a friend.

Although sections of the 100-mile route along Hadrian's Cycleway which starts at Bowness-On-Solway in Cumbria and ends in South Shields, will pose a real test to the cyclists who are more accustomed to Waveney's gentle terrain, Mrs Coubrough said the Wheelers were ready.

'I think the adrenalin will kick in when we are going up those hills,' she said. 'We'll all help get each other there because we have become so close.'

And in low moments, members will be able to look forward to a celebratory buffet laid on by a sister slimming group in Newcastle.

Mrs Coubrough said the group had been given tremendous support by local businesses and people, with pledges of sponsorship and even donations of cycling equipment. 'People have been amazing in the credit crunch,' she said. 'This is not going to stop now - we are going to do something bigger next year.'

Boosting funds with pub quizzes, snail racing nights and raffles, the Wheelers are hoping to raise a total of up to �5,000 for three local charities - Palliative Care East, Macmillan Endowment Fund (James Paget), and Help an East Coast Child.

Follow the progress of the Wheelers or find out how to donate by visiting www.waveneywobblywheelers.blogspot.com